A sound day

Martha Grace did not make a sound on our first visit - she was fast asleep

On this visit we got to hear her "voice" which was interpreted as "I am hungry"

and then in the evening the family band were booked as guest artists for Loughborough Folk Club

and someone who wasn't in the band snuck up on stage for a couple of songs

Martha - Day 1

Martha was born at 2:48am

weighing 7lb 10oz

and spent nearly all her first day sleeping

and having trouble with her hat.

She is long limbed

but perfectly formed.

Mum & Dad are tired but happy.

Hayling Island

As luck would have it we met someone who lives in Hayling Island in the week leading up to our holiday so we arrived with a little local knowledge

We crossed the Langstone bridge, traversed the Island from top to bottom and arrived at "Lakeside"

We were met with an "elephant in the room"

We explored the south coastline and came across an old Ack-Ack gun placement next to a lake. The lake had an island and the island had trees and the trees had plastic bags...

which turned out to be egrets

After 3 nights we transferred (upgraded?) to Sinah Warren

...which provided opportunities for bird watching on the mudflats (heron, egret, curlew, oystercatcher, redshank, golden plover, black-headed gull, black-backed gull)

...and having been disappointed in trying to book rifle shooting and archery at Lakeside we made sure we got our names down early at Sinah Warren. Mum was able to burst balloons at archery while I was came out best at rifle shooting.

On our departure day there was a "birds of prey" demonstration. There was an awkward moment when the falconer's whole audience started looking up away from his birds when a wild buzzard arrived and started flying round over our heads. We had also seen this buzzard the day before during the archery.

Up to London to see the Queen

Well to be truthful not to see the Queen as she is now, but the queen as she was at her coronation.

We arrived at the newly refurbished St Pancras International and took the tube to Green Park

The pathway we took to the Palace has apparently been officially named the Diana Memorial Walk

 At the palace there were only two guardsmen on duty

 We had a good look round the outside searching for the ticket office

 We had timed tickets for 14:45 but it took quite a while to get through the security checks. There was no filming allowed inside the State Rooms so we can't show you pictures of the Coronation Dress (actually the 'dress' of all the Royal family and the titled guests was on display). We left the Palace by the back door and had some refreshment in the Palace Café...

... before walking out down the side of the Palace gardens

 Some water feature!

 On the way home we spent a few minutes at Hyde Park Corner where there is (among other memorials) a memorial called the New Zealand Memorial created in 2006

 There was something different on each 'post'

 On the tube journey home we were amused to find a tube map made with Lego

Grandparents-in-waiting

During this last period of waiting, we took the opportunity to do a little homework, a refresher course...

 I'm hungry!

Now I'm sleepy!

[With special thanks to Samuel!]

Thorpe Acre Trail

Being August I thought it was about time I checked to see if there were any Damsel flies about near the water. Is it going to be a poor year for them as well as butterflies...?

At first I couldn't find anything interesting then this dragonfly caught my eye

(detail)

And then, unbelievably, it perched much closer...

and the camera obliged with pretty sharp focus